BMW Andretti’s Antonio Felix da Costa admits the team needing more work to do against DS Techeetah despite the win against Jean-Eric Vergne in the 2018/19 FIA Formula E Championship opener in Saudi Arabia.
BMW Andretti looked quick all-through the pre-season test at Valencia and showed good pace in Ad Diriyah as well even though the weather did not permit to showcase full potential for any of the teams competing.
But more then the German-American outfit, it was the two DS Techeetah drivers who stamped their authority in the race. Both Vergne and Andre Lotterer looked more or less certain to get a 1-2 until the penalty.
Even with the stewards ruling, Vergne was still able to fight through and chase da Costa to the line for the win with Lotterer gaining places to be fifth as the team as a whole put up a solid show against its rivals.
Da Costa felt that Vergne was hard to defend – the Frenchman had actually overtaken him in the race but had to give way due to the penalty. “I’m delighted for myself that I’m back at the top of the podium again after such a long time but primarily for the team,” he said.
“We have always had the same goal, to get to this point. And each of us gave it our all. Days like this make it clear: It’s worth all the effort! Many thanks to everyone who played their part in this win. But we still have a lot of work to do.
“Jean-Eric Vergne was incredibly fast, it was really close at the end, my heart rate went through the roof. But in the end, I did enough.” This was da Costa’s second Formula E win since the inaugural season and first in the new era of the Gen2 cars.
On the other hand, defending champion Vergne showed extreme confidence in the package and laid out in open that it was only the beginning with much more in the bag for the team as they chase for their maiden manufacturers’ title.
“Today [the race] was just a taster of what is to come from DS Techeetah,” said Vergne. “The course was so much fun to drive, it was like walking on a cloud out there. We put on a great show and as we aim for more podiums and our first win of the season.
“I’m confident that we will continue to deliver some very exciting racing for the rest of the championship. We’re going to absorb all the lessons, continue in this spirit and come back for more.”
